


Of Trust and Infinity Stones

by byrdistheword91



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Forgiving Nicole, Gen, Important Conversations, Spoilers for 4X05, Spoilers for...Avengers: Engame?, Vulnerable Jeremy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26150734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byrdistheword91/pseuds/byrdistheword91
Summary: “I gave up. And I couldn’t handle that you hadn’t.” Jeremy sniffled. “You were so hopeful and so determined and so sure that they’d be back. I just couldn’t keep pretending that I had faith anymore. I stopped calling you because I couldn’t keep lying to you.”Or:The conversation that Nicole and Jeremy REALLY need to have.
Relationships: Jeremy Chetri & Nicole Haught
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Of Trust and Infinity Stones

Of Trust And Infinity Stones

Jeremy was a shitty friend.

He’d left most of his friends trapped in that damn garden for a year and a half, and then ghosted the one friend he still had contact with.

And then everything with Robin…ugh!

He’d spent the past 18 months playing the good little government agent to keep Black Badge from bombing Purgatory, and what did he have to show for it? Some stupid arm workouts and a cursed friend who no longer trusted him.  
  
Jeremy glanced over at Nicole, shivering in the tub of ice water and mentally prepping herself for what was about to happen.

Well…okay, maybe she still trusted him a little. Or maybe she was just that desperate.

“Okay.” Jeremy breathed shakily as he stepped back over to the tub and attached the monitors to Nicole’s chest. “We are gonna monitor your vitals. Leave everything to magic, and nothing to chance!”  
  
Jeremy stepped back and forced an optimistic smile at Nicole. “You ready?”  
  
“Well, I’d rather not keep barfing frogs and trying to kill my friends. So…yeah.” Nicole tried to smile back with more of a pained grimace.  
  
“Once you’re under, your consciousness should transfer to the frog.” Jeremy explained, fighting the urge to bounce anxiously on the balls of his feet. “Two will become one.”  
  
“My favorite Spice Girls song!” Nedley looked up from the passage he was expected to read, the wolf-hat perched precariously on his head. “That’s gotta be a good sign.”

Jeremy barked a short laugh, the tension coursing through his body erupting in a brief moment. He was terrified. A thousand what-ifs raced through his mind as he knelt by the tub and tried to busy himself by triple-checking the equipment.

What if the curse didn’t break?

What if they couldn’t bring Nicole back?

What if her consciousness didn’t transfer?

What if they actually drown her?

What if they _do_ bring her back?

What if she never forgives him?

“NICOLE, I’M SO SORRY!” Jeremy screamed at Nicole, startling both her and Nedley. Jeremy scrambled closer to the jumpy woman and grabbed her hand in a grip that made her wince in pain. “I’m sorry I ghosted you! I’m sorry I didn’t call you more! I’m sorry about what I said about you not being the heir! I’m sorry I abandoned you!”  
  
Nicole stared wide-eyed. “Jeremy, you didn’t-”  
  
“BUT I DID!!!” Jeremy was nearly reaching hysterics by this point as all the tension bubbled and erupted out of him and he fought back tears. “I abandoned you! I stopped calling, I stopped answering, I didn’t tell you anything, I left you alone in this shitty little town in the ass-end of nowhere-”

“Well, you don’t have to get mean about it.” Grumbled Nedley, who Jeremy ignored.

“-and if I hadn’t left you on read, you wouldn’t have gotten desperate! You wouldn’t have gone to the Clantons and made that deal! You wouldn’t be barfing frogs, and you wouldn’t have handcuffed Waverly-”

“Ehhh, that probably would have still happened.” Nicole conceded, a blush forming on her face despite the icy water.

“The point is none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been such a shitty friend! YOU’RE CURSED AND IN A DEAL WITH THE CLANTONS BECAUSE OF ME!” Jeremy swiped angrily at his eyes, trying to hide the leaking tears. “And I don’t blame you if you hate me forever!”

Nicole stared at Jeremy as his swallowed his sobs and continued to rub at his face.

“Nedley?”

The man in question stood from his chair. “I think I’ve got some good scotch stashed away in the basement for after we Lazarus you. Let me go get it.”

Nedley vanished down the stairs behind the bar, leaving Jeremy kneeling by Nicole’s side.

“Jeremy,” Nicole reached over with her free hand and rested it against his cheek, holding his head and looking him in the eyes. “you didn’t cause any of this. I admit, I was really pissed at you for not calling me, but your phone was monitored. They were watching you, and you were trying to keep them from turning the triangle into a crater. You were trying to protect me.”

“No.” Jeremy sobbed, his forehead coming to rest on the rim of the tub. “No, I didn’t stop calling to protect you, Nicole. I stopped because I gave up.”

The silence that followed that statement was the heaviest silence Jeremy had ever endured, and he couldn’t force himself to look at Nicole’s face.

“…You what?” Came the quiet voice from the tub.

“I gave up. And I couldn’t handle that you hadn’t.” Jeremy sniffled. “You were so hopeful and so determined and so sure that they’d be back. I just couldn’t keep pretending that I had faith anymore. I stopped calling you because I couldn’t keep lying to you.”

Jeremy felt a hand rest heavily on his head. Truthfully, if Nicole shoved his head under the water, he wouldn’t blame her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nicole asked, her voice abnormally small. “I wouldn’t have been mad at you.”

“I was mad at myself. You were here, defending the Homestead, keeping a teenager alive, dealing with the fucking assholes in this town, and you never broke. All I had to deal with were some idiot bureaucrats, and I couldn’t even handle that.” Jeremy’s grip relaxed a bit on Nicole’s hand, but he was grateful when she didn’t let go.

“Jeremy, you were working hard to keep us safe. You were isolated, too.” Long fingers hooked under Jeremy’s chin and forced him to meet her eyes. “Robin was gone, everyone was missing, you were dealing with those Black Badge idiots, and you had me calling you constantly hounding you for more leads! Jeremy, you can’t compare our situations and think that either of us had it worse than the other one, that’s not fair to you! This shit was hard on both of us, and you’re not a bad person for giving up.”

Jeremy stared at the dead frog in the nearby jar. “You didn’t give up.”

“Jeremy...”

“You didn’t. You held in there. You kept the faith. You never stopped believing in them, and you stayed. Solid as a rock. Loyal. Like always.” Jeremy’s face burned with shame. “You’re always so loyal and steady. You always handle shit, no matter what. I wish I was as strong as you, Nic.”

Nicole laughed bitterly, her hand dropping from Jeremy’s chin as she stared at the water. “I’m starting to realize what kind of bed I’ve made for myself, you know. I kept convincing everyone and myself that I was fine. That I didn’t need anyone looking after me or worrying over me. Guess I can’t complain now, everyone was just listening to what I was saying.”

Jeremy looked back at Nicole, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you-”

“Eighteen months is a really long time, Jeremy.” Nicole looked at the water with distant eyes. “And even the strongest rocks crack if you hold the pressure for long enough.”

Jeremy swallowed hard. “You…Oh God, Nicole, I’m so sor-”

“Please.” Nicole interrupted him. “Don’t. We both fucked up, dude. We both should have checked in more with each other. Maybe we could have kept each other’s spirits up. I’m sorry I thought you’d ditched me. I know you’d never abandon your friend, no matter what.”

Jeremy wiped his drying tears. “I’m sorry I assumed that you were fine, Nicole. I should have checked in with you more and tried to keep your spirits up.”

Nicole shrugged awkwardly. “I mean, I _did_ let you guys think you never needed to.”

“That’s no excuse.” Jeremy stated firmly. “You’re still a person, Nicole. You’re allowed to feel hopeless and you’re allowed to need to lean on someone else every now and then. I just…I just got so used to Waverly being your rock, I never stopped to think about how you were coping without her. I’ll be better about checking in with you in the future, Nicole. I promise.”

Nicole raised her eyes to meet his. “Jeremy, you’re a good guy. I know you don’t feel like it right now, but you really are. And I may have been really angry with you, you’re still one of my best friends. I’ll be better about letting you know when I need help. I promise.”

Jeremy reached across the tub and pulled Nicole into a hug, ignoring the strain on his back caused by the awkward angle.

“…You are so cold, Nicole.”

“I am aware, trust me.”

Jeremy pulled back and stood, looking at Nicole with full sincerity in his eyes. “I do. I really do.”

Nicole stared back for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“Okay, well, in the spirit of this new openness we’re trying, I need you to know something.”

Jeremy’s stance shifted in confusion. “Um, okay? I hope this isn’t about my hair, I really like this style.”  
  
Nicole snorted. “No, dummy. Something else. Listen, I already kinda told Wynonna, but after eighteen months had passed and I’d lost hope, I went to-”

Nicole jerked forward and gagged horribly, clamping a hand over her mouth and swallowing with a disgusted look.

“Woah, woah, I get it!” Jeremy held out his hands placatingly. “You gave up, you went to the Clantons, they tricked you into that one-sided deal, I get it!”

“No, Jeremy! It wasn’t-URK!”

Jeremy grabbed a bucket and held it under Nicole just as she bent over the side of the tub and spewed into it.

“Ughhhh, God this sucks…” Nicole grumbled, wiping her mouth. “I wish I could just tell you-” She stopped short and grabbed her mouth again, fighting another wave.

They both stilled, both holding their breaths as Nicole’s stomach rolled. Finally, it seemed to calm, and she removed her hand from her mouth and collapsed back against the tub.

“Maybe there’s another way…” Nicole got a thoughtful look before jerking her head up excitedly. “Jeremy! You saw Avengers: Endgame, right?!”

The man’s eyes lit up, talk of nerd stuff perking him up in an almost Pavlovian response. “Yeah, of course! With Captain America, and Thor, and everyone coming back and kicking Thanos’s-”

“Right, right, yeah! It was really cool, not the point Jeremy!” Nicole waved a hand to cut her friend off, even as a smile tugged at her lips at his enthusiasm. It was a welcome sight after months of oppressive sadness permeating every part of her life. “You know how they needed the Infinity Stones to stop Thanos?”

“Yeah?”

“And how they had to go to different time periods to get them?”

“Riiiight…” Jeremy wasn’t sure where Nicole was going with this.

“Okay, you know how Clint and Natasha had to go to Vormir to get the Soul Stone, because they needed the stone…to _save the world_?” Nicole stared into Jeremy’s eyes as she spoke, trying to will him into understanding what she was trying to say without saying.

“I…yeah, I remember that.” He nodded, trying to understand where she was going with this.

“Okay, but they _really_ needed to _get the stone out_ of where it was _being kept_ , right? To save the world, they had to _get the stone out_.” Brown eyes blazed with intensity, as if they were staring into Jeremy’s soul. “But, they couldn’t just _wait_. For the stone. They _couldn’t wait_ for it to come out.”

“Right, right, I gotcha.” Jeremy nodded more assuredly, understanding what Nicole was trying to say even as she desperately tried to verbally tap-dance around the curse’s restrictions.

“Okay. So, they couldn’t _just wait_ for the stone to come out. Natasha had to _do something_ to get it out.” The look in Nicole’s eyes grew more desperate as she silently begged Jeremy to understand. “She _gave something up_ …and _because she did that_ the stone was _released_.”

It all clicked.

“…Oh my God, Nicole, you-”

“AH, AH, AH!!!” Nicole held her hand up quickly as her other hand flew to her mouth.

“Right, right, sorry!” Jeremy covered his own mouth for a moment as they waited for the nausea to calm. “Okay. I got it, Nic. I understand.”

Nicole nodded and sighed in relief as she sank back into the water, relief pouring off of her in waves.

“I just needed to make sure that you knew.” She said softly. “About that moment in the movie. That Natasha made a choice. It was a desperate one, but it was _her choice_. No one else's. I needed to make sure _someone_ had seen it. Just in case…”

“Hey.” Jeremy reached over and grabbed Nicole’s shoulder firmly. “It’s going to work. We’re gonna get you out of this. This time, Natasha’s coming back. Trust me.”

Nicole did. She really did.


End file.
